Mental Health Resources & Crisis Helplines

This page brings together trusted mental health organisations and crisis helplines. It is provided as a free resource. We are not affiliated with these organisations, and we share them because they offer reputable, professional support.

How to Use the Crisis Lines Below

Reaching out to a helpline for the first time can feel intimidating, so here is what to expect. Most of the lines below are free to call or text from within the listed country, confidential, and staffed by trained volunteers or crisis counsellors rather than police dispatchers. You do not need a diagnosis, a plan, or "proof" that things are serious enough — feeling overwhelmed, unsafe, or unable to cope is reason enough to reach out.

When you contact a crisis line, a responder will usually ask for a first name only (or none at all, depending on the service), what is happening right now, and whether you are safe at this moment. You will not be judged, lectured, or automatically referred to police unless there is an immediate, serious risk to life that cannot be managed any other way. If you would rather text than talk, several of the services below offer that option.

24/7 Crisis Helplines by Country

United States

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988
• Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741
• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357 (treatment referral & information)

United Kingdom

• Samaritans — Call 116 123 (free, 24/7; also reachable by email at jo@samaritans.org)
• Shout — Text SHOUT to 85258 (free, 24/7 crisis text support)
• NHS 111 — Call 111 and select the mental health option for urgent, non-emergency support

Ireland

• Samaritans Ireland — Call 116 123 (free, 24/7)
• Pieta House — Call 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444 (suicide and self-harm crisis support)
• Text About It — Text HELLO to 50808 (free, 24/7 text service)

Canada

• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline — Call or text 988 (free, 24/7, available in English and French)
• Talk Suicide Canada — Call 1-833-456-4566
• Kids Help Phone — Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 (for children, teens, and young adults)

Australia

• Lifeline — Call 13 11 14 (free, 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention)
• Beyond Blue — Call 1300 22 4636 (anxiety, depression, and general mental health support)
• 13YARN — Call 13 92 76 (crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

New Zealand

• 1737, Need to Talk? — Call or text 1737 (free, 24/7, connects you with a trained counsellor)
• Lifeline Aotearoa — Call 0800 543 354
• Youthline — Call 0800 376 633 or text 234 (support for young people)

Other Countries

If you are outside these countries, you can find a verified helpline near you through Find A Helpline or the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

Trusted Mental Health Organisations

• World Health Organization (WHO) — Mental Health
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Mind (UK)
• Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA)
• Mental Health Foundation

How to Find Professional Help

1. Start with your doctor. A family doctor or GP can assess your symptoms, rule out physical causes, and refer you to the right service.
2. Ask about talk therapy. Evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are effective for many people with anxiety and depression.
3. Use reputable directories. Many national organisations above offer directories to find licensed therapists and local services.
4. Consider cost and access. Ask about sliding-scale fees, community mental health centres, and free helplines if cost is a barrier.

Free Self-Help Tools on This Site

While you seek or wait for professional support, you may find our free educational tools helpful for managing day-to-day symptoms:

• Anxiety self-help exercises
• Depression self-help exercises
• In-depth articles on anxiety and depression

Emergency Services or a Helpline? How to Decide

Crisis helplines and emergency services both matter, but they serve different moments. Use this as a rough guide:

• Call your local emergency number now (911 in the US & Canada, 999 in the UK, 000 in Australia, 112 in Ireland, 111 in New Zealand) if someone has already taken steps to end their life, is severely injured, is unconscious, or you cannot keep yourself or someone else physically safe in the next few minutes.
• Call or text a crisis helpline if you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, feel unable to cope, or are supporting someone who is struggling, but there is no immediate physical danger right now. Helpline responders can also help you decide whether emergency services are needed.
• Go to your nearest emergency department if you have already harmed yourself or taken more medication than prescribed, even if you feel calmer afterwards — medical evaluation may still be necessary.

If you are ever unsure which option applies, it is safer to call and be told it was not necessary than to stay silent. Crisis responders and emergency services would always rather you reach out.

Aftercare: What Helps After a Crisis Passes

Getting through a crisis moment is not the end of the process. What happens in the days afterward often determines whether things stabilise or repeat:

• Tell one trusted person — a partner, friend, family member, or doctor — what happened, even briefly. Crises that stay completely secret are harder to prevent next time.
• Book a follow-up appointment with a GP, doctor, or therapist within the next few days rather than waiting for things to feel "bad enough" again.
• Write a simple safety plan: your personal warning signs, two or three coping strategies that have helped before, people you can contact, and the helpline numbers on this page, kept somewhere easy to find.
• Reduce access to means of harm where possible, and ask someone you trust to help with this if you are not able to do it alone.
• Be patient with yourself. Feeling raw, exhausted, or embarrassed afterward is common and does not undo the progress of having reached out.

If you found this page during or after a difficult moment, please also read our Disclaimer for guidance on how to use this information responsibly, and feel free to contact us if a number above is outdated or you would like a country added — this page is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis.

This page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional care. Helpline numbers are provided in good faith; please verify current details with the provider. See our full Disclaimer.